Touched by Darkness (Young Creator Trilogy) (17 page)

Throat clearing pulls me out of my thoughts, and I look up to meet
Riley’s smile. “You
ready to head back to the hotel?” Riley asks.
“I guess.”
“You okay,Trish?” she inquires as she scoots out of her chair.
“I don’t know,Riley. It’s just so much, and I’m hoping that I’m following the right path.
By the way, how come Aunt Tisididn’t come along with you? I could’ve really used her advice
right about now.”
“Trish,I would’ve told you earlier, but I just didn’t want to add anything else for you to
worry about. It has been bad back on the island. Haven has regrouped and is constantly
launching attacks against the camp. They were barely able to spare me to accompany you on this
mission. Keagan’s mom, your mom, and Tisiphone have been keeping everything in one piece,
but just barely.”
“I wish we could just turn all of them into frogs,” I tell her.
“Why don’t you?” At my startled look, Riley quickly continues,“I mean,couldn’t you?”
“I was just kidding. I honestly have never thought about doing that. They are people
regardless of what their beliefs are, so I don’t think they deserve that. They just need to realize
that how they are doing things doesn’t work.”
“You are a lot nicer than I am! If I was able to do what you are capable of, I would’ve
turned them into snails and then squashed them under my boot.” Riley is a fierce warrior and the
fire that shines in her eyes, as she is squishing imaginary snails under her black combat boots,
reminds me of that. I sometimes forget what she is capable of, she is just such a bubbly person.
But underneath that sweet, carefree exterior is a bad ass warrior that will stand up for what she
believes in and kick some butt doing it.
“I don’t know, Riley. I hated my experience at Haven. It was horrible, humiliating,
painful, and just something that I really want to forget. However, I can’t … it’s one of those
things that gets ingrained into who you are. I’ve grown a lot since my time there, and through
interacting with your brother I have found that sometimes good people do bad things. Especially
when they think that it’s the right thing,or that they are doing it for the greater good.”
“I don’t know, I still think that we all should know right from wrong and if something
feels wrong then we shouldn’t do it.” She shrugs her shoulders as if to say duh.
“Not everyone is as strong as you,Riley.” I walk over to her and give her a hug.
“All right,I’m ready to go, let’s get outof here.”
The ride back to the hotel is filled with light chatter. Instead of worrying about what the
day after tomorrow holds, we decide to scope out Paris. Might as well enjoy the last day that we
may have on this planet. The story that Chris relayed earlier keeps bouncing around in my head.
I’m surprised that no one mentioned wedidn’t have weeks to spare when it comes to getting our
hands on the sword.
Riley and I stay up late, talking about anything and everything. She brings up the topic of
Keagan just once, but I immediately switch the subject. I mean, how can I talk about Keagan and
how I feel about him if I don’t even know, especially with his sister?
By the time that we decide to turn the lights off, I can barely keep my eyes open. It
feels like seconds before I find myself on top of the Eiffel Tower. I’m standing on a railing, and
the only thing making sure that I don’t plunge to my death is the hand gripping the piece of steel
above my head. I try to turn my head and find that Ican’t.
“Beautiful,isn’t it?” I would recognize that voice anywhere. It’s Haddie. How is this
possible? This must mean that she is here and knows of our plan to get the sword from the
Underworld. I wonder what her plan is.
“So how is Chelsey doing? Did that sweet little friend of yours ever tell you about all the
fun we had?” She cackles like an evil witch. “I have to tell you, making that one scream in pain
took quite a bit. She is definitely a lot tougher than I would have guessed. I knew I had her when
her eyes turned glassy and the life just seemed to seep from her body.” I want to scream at her
and rip her black heart out, but all that I can do is sit here and listen to what she tells me. It must
be the most frustrating situation that I have ever found myself in. Just like last time, what I want
to do is stop her and make her pay for her actions and words, but Ican’t do anything.
“I know that you’re here, and I promise that we will be face to face soon. Do you know
why I know this?I know because if you don’t find me by tomorrow night then you can just wave
Paris good-bye.I’ll also make sure that I finish what I started with Chelsey. I will make sure that
what you witnessed before was just child’s play compared to what I have planned for here. Make
sure to bring your sidekicks along, I have some fun planned for them,too.”
With those words, she jumps off the tower and I can feel the wind whipping my hair all
around me. I know that I will not die, but having this body fall closer and closer to the cement
below is terrifying. Just as we are about to make impact, Haddie gently lands on her feet. There
is a couple on a bench kissing passionately, and I watch in horror as Haddie—with the lift of her
pinkie—makes the bench with its two patrons smash into the wrought iron structure of the Eifel
Tower.
We walk over to the two now dead bodies. Haddie, with the tip of her brown boot, lifts
up a limp, lifeless hand. Then she sits on her hackles, and with the tip of her finger, starts
nudging the dead girl, and finally lifts up the boy’s head by the hair. When she is satisfied with
whatever she was checking, she excitedlyjumps to her feet and claps her hands. “Oh boy, oh
boy! What fun we are going to have. Just watch this, Trish! I have been practicing and it’s so
much fun. I have been wondering, can you do this, too?”
She takes a step back, and I watch out of her eyes as the two dead bodies—still with
broken bones and lifeless eyes—are raised from the dead. They stand there waiting, no longer
interested in each other but instead solidlyfocused on Haddie. “You,” she points to the boy, “go
and find me something to eat.” The dead boy just stares at her and I can tell that Haddie is
getting really frustrated. She turns to the girl and utters the same command, to which the girl runs
off and returns with a half-eaten sandwich. Shetakes a bite and then spits it back out. “Yuck,it’s
got Brie cheese on it. I have to tell you, Trish, I wish that this weren’t so one sided. I reallycan’t
wait to meet you face to face. Just think of all the fun we are going to have.” She lets out another
evil laugh.
I want to tell her what I think about her and what she’s doing,but I’m stuck even though I
want to get away from her. I don’t want to witness anything else that has Haddie involved. I just
want to get back to my bed, wake up, and get to the Underworld so that I can stop Haddie from
killing anymore people. She saysshe’s been practicing and that scares me. What exactly does
that mean, does it mean that she has been going on a killing spree?
I have to watch Haddie take out several more people, and each time she adds someone it
hurts my heart. By the time I finally wake up and am released from the horror that Haddie made
me a part of, my face has salt tracks from crying for hours in my sleep. I look over to Riley’s
bed, finding her out like a light. I now know that I can’t do this alone, it’s just too much. It’s not
that I don’t believe the rest of the people who have accompanied me on this journey will not be
helpful, it’s just that I don’t believe that they are enough. I quickly slip into my tennis shoes and
quietly slip out of our room. It’s still fairly early, but a few business people are making their way
out of their rooms.
I walk around the hotel for a few minutes until I find myself once again in the gym. To
my surprise, no one is working out this morning. I walk to the far corner of the room, furthest
from the door, and sit down on the floor. The workout equipment now hides me from the door. I
have done this before, but not across such a long distance. However, I’m desperate and don’t see
any other way. I picture Aunt Tisi breaking down into billions of tiny particles and the air
carrying her to me. I sit on the floor for a long time until I see a shimmer in the air surrounding
me. The shimmer turns into my Aunt Tisi, and in the next instant I’m on my feet and hugging
her.
“Aunt Tisi, I’m sorry.I just didn’t know who else to turn to. I’m so happy to see you.”
“Trish, what a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting this, but I’m happy to be here. Why
have you brought me to Paris?” She returns my hug patiently and then gently pushes me away,
looking at me expectantly.
“Aunt Tisi, I know you expect more of me and that I can handle all of this, but you’re
wrong. Ican’t do it. She has gotten into my head and shown me what she’s been doing. She has
to be stopped and I mean immediately. She is just going around killing people, making an army
of undead. How am I supposed tostop that?”
“Trish, take a deep breath. You’re right, she has definitely gotten to you. Maximus told
me of what she did to that city, and that’s why you are now going to get a weapon to stop her. I
know it’s hard to be patient, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason she is doing this is to draw
you out before you have accomplished your goal. You have to realize you can’t stop her
permanently without the weapon. But what I can do is lead you to the Underworld. It is a place
that I’m very familiar with. We should leave as soon as possible,” Aunt Tisi tells me.
“How come we don’t just turn her into a harmless mouse? Riley asked me about it the
other day.” It doesn’t feel like a solution, but I want to see if it would be a last resort kind of
option.
“The force field prevents us from doing that to each other. If the force field were brought
down, it may be an option,but it’s nearly impossible to take it down. Even if it were a
possibility,would you do it?”
“I really don’t know. Itmay be a better solution than killing my sister.”
“Killing is never the easy option, and in general should only be used as a last option.
Trish, I know that what we are asking of you is a lot, but it is your destiny. You, more than any
other living being on this planet, knows what Haddie is capable of. Is her life worth that of
millions?” I consider what Aunt Tisi just told me and have to agree; one life in the greater picture
may not be worth much,but when it’s your sister’s life on the line everything changes. I know I
shouldn’t feel anything toward her, but I still do.
I know that I don’t have a choice, Haddie has made her intentions pretty clear. She wants
to kill me, steal my life force, and then cause havoc on humanity. Who knows what she will do if
she is allowed to continue as she is right now.
“I guess we need to get everyone together so that we can get this sword,” I say, but Aunt
Tisi shakes her head, telling me no.
“It is just going to be you, me, and Keagan. The less people that enter the Underworld the
better. Hades is going to have a field day with us regardless. Ihaven’t seen that old fool in ages.”
“Hades still exists?” I never considered that Hades may still be around since all of the
other gods winked out of existence when the belief in them vanished. But looking at Aunt Tisi,
the explanation stares me right in the face. “He survives of off fear and pain, just like you and
your sisters do.” A nod confirms what I just figured out.
“Have you been using your powers?” I shake my head, telling her no. I just haven’t had
the opportunity to. “I wish we had more time before we faced your sister. There are still so many
things that you need to figure out. I see that your ability to make people travel is very strong, but
I think that the reason you have your gift is to counteract Haddie’s. I’m really sorry that I told
you not to mess with it. Maybe we can talk to Hades about it. He might be able to give you some
pointers.”
“You seriously think that Hades may be able to help me? I thought that he was a bad
guy!”
Tisiphone, clearly amused by my outburst, laughs. “Hades is many things, but I wouldn’t
necessarily consider him a bad guy. You’ll see when you meet him. He is definitelysomething.”
She puts her hand on my shoulder and leads me over toward an area that people must use to do
floor exercises. I don’t know what we are doing.
“Think fast,” is the only forewarning that I have before, out of nowhere,I’m surrounded
by five faceless ninjas. Two of them rush me right away. Unlike last time I was put on the spot, I
react. I call on my energy ball and fire it at the two that are approaching me. They disappear in a
cloud of dust. Then, before the other three can make a move, I make two swords appear in my
hand and imagine myself in stretchy jeans, leather boots, and a loose top. They disappear before
my eyes and Aunt Tisi is clapping her hands. “Good job. I just wanted to see you react. It seems
that you have definitelyimproved.”
“Why did you make the other three disappear?”
“I saw what I needed to see.” Her eyes turn white, and then Keagan stands in front of us.
He must have gone for a run; all he is wearing is a pair of loose workout shorts and running
shoes. His hair is disheveled and he is covered in sweat. My breath catches. Why does he have to
be so hot? The sweat is making his skin glisten and his muscled upper body is just delicious. All
I want to do is stare at him.
Throat clearing makes me tear my eyes away from Keagan’s bare chest, and when I look
up to meet his eyes I notice the smirk on his face. Shit, I really don’t want to give him any mixed
signals. I still don’t know what to do about us. Us? No, I can’t think of Keagan and me as us. I
shake my head, clearing the fog that has turned my brain to mush, away.
“Keagan, good morning. Did you go for a run?” I casually ask.
“Sure did, and you,” he slowly looks me up and down, making me catch my breath, “can
join me anytime you want. Nothing better than getting sweaty together,” he tells me with a wink.
“Umm … thanks, Keagan. Youknow how much I enjoy running.” I swallow nervously
and try not to look like his words are bringing pictures of us all over each other to the forefront in
my brain.
“Well, all right then. If you two are done with whatever you are doing, then let’s talk.
Keagan, please turn your attention to me and enough with the droolingover Trish.” To my
surprise, Keagan flushes, and the flush is all the way from his face to the waistband of his shorts.